RPX Closes Altitude Capital Transaction

4/5/2012 7:08 PM ET

Patent protection company RPX Corp. (RPXC) said Thursday it has executed definitive agreements on its largest syndicated transaction to date pertaining to Altitude Capital Partners with the participation of more than 10 of its clients.

In March end, RPX entered into certain agreements pursuant to which RPX will contribute about $46 million to fund the acquisition of all right, title and interest in and to certain patent assets held by Digitude Innovations LLC, the purchase of all of the issued and outstanding membership interests of Altitude Capital Management LLC, and other related transactions.

RPX said the deal will increase its portfolio of patent assets by 30 percent and will remove the potential exposure Altitude Capital Partners and its management arm, Altitude Capital Management LLC, presents to the clients of RPX.

Altitude Capital Partners is a private equity fund whose portfolio companies have generated more than $700 million in licensing revenue since 2005.

On closure of the deal by the end of April 2012, RPX will obtain ownership and rights to more than 500 US patents and certain sub-license rights to patents, and will also dismiss 22 lawsuits in which 10 RPX clients are defendants.

The deal also brings certain restrictive covenants from Robert Kramer, the founder of ACM and ACP, to prevent him from licensing patents against the RPX client network for an extended period of time, and the unique data, market insights and NPE analysis expertise of ACM.

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